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Tag: entrepreneur

  • 'Boardroom Badshah' Shahrukh Khan is on the cover of Entrepreneur’s third anniversary special issue.

    ‘Entrepreneur’ celebrates 3 years

    By A Correspondent

     

    Monthly magazine Entrepreneur has completed three years in India with its anniversary special issue now available on the stands across the country. Entrepreneur’s 36th issue includes a mix of stories and voices, which captures the essence of the Indian enterprise – from blue-chip companies including family-owned businesses, small and medium enterprises to start-ups.

     

    On the cover story of the issue is a man who is thought of mostly as an actor and entertainer, but does a lot more when the spotlight is not on him. Shahrukh Khan has followed his instinct and his passion to build a business group that covers sports, films and more with his business philosophy. Entrepreneur’s story looks at how Khan, with his very own brand of management style, has made his top team function virtually like co-owners, taking each of the businesses he runs to success.

     

    The special issue is also loaded with a lineup of 12 of India’s biggest business leaders – the likes of Kumar Mangalam Birla, Adi Godrej, NR Narayana Murthy, Malvinder Singh, and K Anji Reddy – who have spelled out their predictions for India, its economic landscape and challenges, and what it would take for entrepreneurs to succeed to the year 2015.

     

    The issue also features a parting note from Kaushik Basu, India’s chief economic advisor for the last three years, as he recounts his successes and failures, and a look at the three Nair sisters – the third generation of the Leela Group of hotels – and how they are taking the homegrown hotel brand into the next stage of its growth.

     

    Entrepreneur Editor-in-chief Sourav Majumdar said, “Entrepreneur has always sought to be a catalyst in the exciting entrepreneurial ecosystem in India, providing credible information and trends to arm our readers with. In our 3rd Anniversary special issue, we have sought to present to our readers the best thoughts, trends and stories which encapsulate the best of the Indian entrepreneurial spirit. It is also a time when we renew our resolve to be the business owner’s magazine of choice.”

     

    Sandeep Khosla, CEO, Network18 Publishing commented “When we launched Entrepreneur in India, we were focused at providing a magazine which is fully dedicated to the needs of the Indian business owners. Witnessing the magazine’s growth in the last three years, we are convinced that Entrepreneur has remained true to its spirit, continuously facilitating entrepreneurship across industry sectors.”

     

  • It is important that the co-founders have a common vision in the game. As the promoter of the business, you should clearly articulate your vision, says Rohit Sharma.

    5 things to keep in mind while starting an online venture

    By Rohit Sharma

     

    #1 “Be Frugal” should be your mantra

    It is very important to be extremely frugal. Cash is King and start-ups should keep their fixed costs as low as possible. Try multitasking. It is important to conserve cash and be completely stingy before you raise the required capital for the business. Ideally, you should have capital for next 18 months either ready or in the pipeline.

     

    #2 Team, a critical success factor

    It is all about the team – their motivation levels, dedication and perseverance to make it happen. It is important that the co-founders have a common vision in the game. One of the biggest challenges is to hire the right start-up team (excluding the founders/co-founders). The team needs to be extremely good in terms of skill-sets; one also can’t afford to hire very expensive people. As the promoter of the business, you should clearly articulate your vision so that the start team comes on board completely motivated and with a strong belief in you and the business.

     

    #3 Business Metrics: Get them right

    It is very important to get the key business metrics of your business right from day one. Have complete clarity in terms of key growth drivers, revenue drivers and cost drivers and continuously monitor track more efficiency in the business. Business plans should not be made for the VCs, but for yourself and for the growth of the business. If you have done that successfully, VCs will anyways buy in.

     

    #4 Don’t give up too soon

    It is important for the entrepreneur, especially in the digital space to be extremely nimble and flexible. Mainly because the environment is very dynamic, business models are continuously changing, new technologies/innovation keep on coming, so one should be prepared to quickly adapt to newer business models if required. You might not be doing exactly the same thing eventually that you started with. There is nothing wrong with that as long as you have created a sustainable growth model in your business.

     

    #5 There is no experience like good customer experience

    It is very important to focus on a great customer experience. It is all about the right product that the customer loves and it could be the biggest differentiator for the business. One needs to spend disproportionate time to deliver an outstanding customer experience across all the value-chain components of your business. A great product or customer experience can be your biggest marketing tool.

     

    Rohit Sharma is the Founder, Wopshop.com.

     

  • Entrepreneur Mag flags off second season of Guru Mantra with Phaneesh Murthy.

    Phaneesh Murthy gives second Guru Mantra lecture

    iGate Patni’s CEO, Phaneesh Murthy (right) with Senthil Chengalvarayan of Network 18 group

    By A Correspondent

    Entrepreneur, a monthly magazine from the Infomedia 18 stable, in association with Client Associates, recently organised the second edition of the Guru Mantra lecture series with Phaneesh Murthy, CEO, iGATE Patni.

     

    Murthy spoke to a select gathering of established entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and corporate executives about his successful entrepreneurial stint, the challenges he faced in setting up the company, valued today at US$1 billion. He gave insightful tips on how to get the right kind of funding, the recipe for successful scaling, talent management and policymaking, and many other dos and don’ts of entrepreneurship in India.

     

    The idea behind the series is to celebrate the spirit of entrepreneurship. Planned to be organised at premium venues across different cities, the series provides a knowledge sharing forum for entrepreneurs.

     

    As part of the format, every session has a successful entrepreneur as the guest mentor who shares their entrepreneurial journey with the attendees, followed by a Q&A session where the attendees get a chance to ask questions specific to their business.

  • How you want to grow is up to you. What kind of partnerships you want to make happen is up to you. The philosophy of the place and people is up to you choose.

    The Anchor: Priti Nair on 8 plus points about being an entrepreneur

    #1 True and real happiness. There is a certain joy you get every day when you walk in see your place, your people.  It’s yours. Yours to nurture and grow. It’s a tremendous feeling. To see your partner who you know is so much the right person to have there with you. A kind of deep comfort of looking at the changes day in and day out. And you always think to yourself you spent so many years in the business to finally do this.

     

    #2 You stay on your toes constantly. With the joy comes a humongous responsibility that rests on your shoulders. The responsibility of people who left what they had and joined you. The responsibility of clients who put their faith in you. To make sure you live up to that keeps you constantly on your toes. You take care of every little detail.

     

    #3 You learn new skill sets. It’s amazing the number of new things you learn. Right from when you start forming the company. The laws the rules the paperwork. Then the get the place right. LAN connections, seating, tea, coffee supplies. Lighting. Then your people. To make them feel comfortable and treasured. Your clients, the way you approach the way you do things. You learn a lot that kind of enhances your life further.

     

    #4 You have only yourself to applaud or blame. There is no system or management above you to blame. No black hole that you can throw your troubles or excuses at. It’s yours for making, breaking, taking and shaping. And it matures you as a human being.

     

    #5 Even if you get messed it’s on your terms. There are frustrations and scrambles that happen like they happen anywhere. But it’s on your terms. What you have chosen. And you can deal with the scrambles much much better with that confidence sitting in your head.

     

    #6 You have the right of refusal if principles don’t match. When principles, morals, integrities don’t match you have the right to say no and bow out. Because how you want to grow is up to you. What kind of partnerships you want to make happen is up to you. The philosophy of the place and people is up to you choose.

     

    #7 You actually give proper quality time to brands and clients. Your interactions with clients are far closer and more intimate. They are almost one on one every time. You put extra effort in every client because they have put their faith into you despite your size, despite you being new. And for that there is a sense of eternal gratitude that stays in your heart so you give more and more of the best you’ve got.

     

    #8 Fewer people, less lost in translations and agendas. You form your world of like-minded happy people. And the number of people are fewer. It’s more hands-on and transparent. Things don’t get lost in layers and layer of several people doing the same thing. And most importantly, effort does not get wasted amidst egos and unknown agendas.

     

    Priti Nair is Founder, Curry Nation.